Polygamy in Pakistan is legally permissible, according to the law of 1961, but restricted to Muslim men, who may have a maximum of four wives at one time. However it is illegal for Hindus as per the Hindu marriage law. The extent to which

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

exists in Pakistan is contested. According to

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, a professor of law at Warwick Law School writes that while polygamy is a cultural tradition, most families do not accept the second wife as a part of the family. On the other hand,

Shirkat Gah Shirkat Gah women's resource centre, is a women's rights organization in Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dep ...

, a Pakistani women's rights organisation, found that

polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...

is "common". However, a representative of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...

says that polygamy is rare, except within communities in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, Southern Punjab or religious fundamentalists. A gender studies consultant, however, writes that it is also found within the urban elite of Pakistan because they can afford to keep and maintain more than one wife and their children. That said, it is still considered to be low in number. A man who wishes to remarry is required to obtain the legal consent of each of his current wives, and to show that he can properly take care of all of them. Pakistani women can add a clause in their Muslim marriage contracts forbidding polygamy. There have been calls to prohibit or criminalize the practice by some in Pakistan, and there have also been some who have shown support of it.

Notable Legal Action

In 2017, a

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

lower court ruled against a man who remarried without obtaining permission from his first wife. He was sentenced a six-month jail term and a fine of Rs. 2,00,000. The chair of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, Fauzia Viqar applauded the move, saying that it would help wronged women to be empowered to take legal action.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polygamy in Pakistan Pakistani wedding Marriage, unions and partnerships in Pakistan

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Women's rights in Pakistan

Notable Legal Action

See also

References